Nutrition

Hosting a Dinner Party for All Taste Buds!

Nutrition
In our home, we love to make any excuse for a get-together....it's the first Monday of the month lets have a potluck, it's a football game let's get together to watch, it's a birthday lets have a dinner party! This past week my husband had a birthday so I of course sprang into action to plan a dinner for the family to come over. In our family we have really health conscious members, ones with food allergies, and not at all health conscious members. I feel my role as the host is to make everyone feel as comfortable and welcome as possible so variety of food is necessary.

Grind Your Own Nut Butters

Nutrition, Recipes
Nut butters have gotten so popular over the past several years. Approximately 5 years ago all we saw in the store was peanut butter....but now there is almond, walnut, cashew, macadamia, hazelnut, and then numerous flavored ones. Before I go any further I want to remind you that peanuts are technically not a nut, it is a legume. So if you enjoy peanut butter you like the bean family---don't say anymore you aren't a fan of legumes! Okay back to nuts... Nuts are extremely healthy for you. They are primarily an unsaturated fat that may aid in lowering ldl cholesterol.

Football During Dinner Time!

Nutrition, Recipes
So Colts and Broncos playing each other with friends coming over...the question I ask, is what food can I make for all healthy and not-so-healthy minds to enjoy? The festive sporting event foods are typically not the greatest, but if vegetables can be added in then they become one step better. So this morning with a few hours ahead of time Ben and I went to the store to grab Mexican fiesta. Here is what I made:

Make Vegetables Your Meal Foundation!

Nutrition, Recipes
When you plan a meal, what do you start with? The beginning of the meal is the foundation! So let’s make the foundation the most important—that key to being the healthiest possible! Tonight for dinner make the vegetable your foundation. Vegetables are the key to health as they are the lowest in calories and highest in nutrients. If they are green they are a great source of protein. If they are still crunchy they contain a great source of fiber. And if you picked them you must like them! So prepare them how you want then choose everything else around them!

Skip the Resolution & Set an Intention

Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, Stress Management
For New Years don’t feel like you have to be in the norm and choose exercise, choose what you truly need to overcome in order to be one step healthier within any of the four pillars: nutrition, sleep, exercise, and stress management! A resolution explains something specific we will do or not do! So once we do the opposite we quit. I know I am tired of feeling like a failure…do you feel the same way? So this year instead of setting a resolution set an intention and make it last ALL year long because you are ready and willing to tackle it!

Eliminate the word ‘No’ and Diet will never be in sight!

Exercise, Nutrition
When we strategize so much to be successful on the day of the holiday, the day after is sometimes overlooked! Enjoying time with family for the past 36 hours is fun yet in all honesty tiring. The food was delicious, the gifts are unwrapped, and my face hurts from laughing so much. So the last thing I want to do on the day after a holiday is cook! Leftovers stock the fridge-coleslaw, turkey, and chocolate indulgences. How can I simply resist? I focus on adding in….

How to Grow Your Willpower!

Nutrition
When you use your willpower all day long it grows tired and weary so at night it can lose its gusto & strength! So where to start….remove all temptation or what I like to call ‘trigger’ foods from the house right away. Give that food to the neighbors; throw it in the trash, or something else to get rid of it without eating it. Keep the following triggers out of sight and out of mind:

Spaghetti Squash is Cookin’ Tonight

Nutrition, Recipes
So it is time to no longer fear the yellow looking football in the produce aisle! A lot of times when we don't know how to cook a vegetable or what it tastes like it is easier to just never try....well for this vegetable break all the rules. Go buy it and then follow these steps... I break all the rules when it comes to cooking squash....typically recipes call for cutting the squash long ways in half and then bake. But DON'T cut it first! You may break your hand. Cook easier by putting the entire squash in the oven at 350 degrees and bake for approximately 45min.